Edward Balls: On 9 March 2009, I informed the House that I had asked Ofsted to carry out a survey of independent faith schools' work to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. The purpose of the survey was to gather evidence on current practice with a view to considering whether the independent school regulations on SMSC are fit for purpose. The survey focused on practice in faith schools in view of the particular context a faith ethos provides.
	Ofsted has today published the results of the survey. It found that practice in all of the 51 schools visited was at least good with pupils demonstrating a strong sense of identity and belonging to their faith, their school and to Britain; and with a clear commitment to promoting the values of good citizenship. Ofsted has concluded that the current regulations are fit for purpose but recommends various ways in which we can work with the sector to improve pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development further and support consistently high standards across the sector.
	I very much welcome the report. I asked Ofsted to carry out this survey because some concerns had been expressed about whether all independent faith schools were effectively preparing pupils for life in British society. While we will always take any specific allegations very seriously, this survey shows that the regulatory regime for independent schools is fit for purpose and that provision across the sector is good.
	I would like to thank the schools and the representatives of different faith organisations who took part in Ofsted's survey. I look forward to working with them and with other practitioners from across the sector to take forward Ofsted's recommendations and promote excellent opportunities for all pupils.
	Ofsted has made recommendations in three areas:
	1) Provide greater clarity in the meaning of the five strands of the SMSC regulations.
	The independent school regulations are designed to offer flexibility to allow schools to provide a distinctive education in line with their faith ethos while at the same time preparing pupils to lead successful lives as responsible citizens in wider British society. While schools want to retain this flexibility, Ofsted has found that they would welcome greater clarity about what is meant by aspects of the regulations.
	I will be setting up a new independent schools practitioners group to work with us on revised guidance to promote consistently high standards right across the sector. This will include encouraging schools to provide pupils with opportunities to learn about the different cultures and faiths practised in the UK, alongside developing a deep understanding and sense of belonging to their own community.
	2) Encourage more interfaith and partnership working between independent schoolsand with the maintained sector.
	Ofsted has found that some of the best practice occurs where schools work in partnership with local communities and with other schools to support the professional development of staff and build mutual respect and understanding.
	There are lots of excellent examples of good partnership working already taking place. I have asked Pat Langham, Chair of the Independent-State School Partnership Group (ISSP) for that group to consider how the sector could encourage this further.
	Around 70 faith schools from the maintained and independent sectors are already embarking on linking projects through the DCSF funded national Schools' Linking Network (SLN). Last week I announced an additional £50,000 support for the national Schools' Linking Network to work in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum to provide high quality advice and training for Local Authorities and schools to encourage successful interfaith linking projects and links between maintained and independent schools.
	3) Ensure teaching resources are accurate and unbiased.
	Religious Education (RE) has a very important role to play in promoting cohesion through developing understanding of different faiths and cultures and exploring the role faith plays in society, and it is important that teachers have access to high quality and accurate resources. In a minority of the schools visited, Ofsted found that while the pupils' understanding was good, there were examples of inaccurate or biased materials being used to teach about religions.
	We know that the availability of high quality resources for RE is an issue in both maintained and independent sectors and I would urge all schools to review the resources they are using. As part of a drive to improve RE provision in all schools, we have commissioned Warwick University to carry out research to look at the RE materials that are currently being used. This work will help to inform work with the RE council, local RE curriculum advisors, teachers and schools to make sure that all pupils have access to high quality learning materials. We will publish this research in the New Year.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence is entering the next stage of the review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme that was brought forward from 2010, as announced by the Defence Secretary in July of this year.
	The terms of reference for the review are as follows:
	to examine whether the fundamental principles of the scheme remain valid;
	to evaluate how successfully the scheme in its current form gives effect to these principles;
	having regard to fairness, feasibility, sustainability and ease of administration, to make recommendations on any modifications that are required to ensure that the scheme is fit for purpose.
	The review will be undertaken by the Ministry of Defence under the leadership of an independent chairman, Admiral the Lord Boyce, who will determine the review recommendations. It will report to the Defence Secretary and be published by him, with an indication of the steps which he intends to take as a result of the review.
	An independent scrutiny group has been established with representatives of service and ex-service organisations, service families' representatives, and medical, academic and legal experts, from whom the independent chairman and the Department will take advice as the review progresses. It has already held its first meeting.
	The aim is for the review to report within a few months.
	The review will look at a range of issues including (but not limited to):
	the fundamental principles underlying the compensation scheme;
	the overall level of compensation, including for dependants;
	what the compensation is for and its relationship with other state benefits;
	comparisons with other compensation in the UK and internationally;
	issues raised by the Court of Appeal judgment;
	the circumstances of injury, illness or death;
	the claims and adjudication process;
	the burden and onus of proof;
	the time limit on claims and the treatment of deterioration;
	the compensation paid for mental illness; and
	the compensation paid to individuals with multiple injuries.
	The membership of the Review's Independent Scrutiny Group is as follows:
	
		
			 Admiral the Lord Boyce GCB OBE DL Former Chief of the Defence Staff 
			 Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter KCVO OBE DL Controller, Army Benevolent Fund 
			 Jerome Church General Secretary, BLESMA 
			 Chris Simpkins Director General, Royal British Legion 
			 David Richmond AFCS Beneficiary 
			 Kim Richardson Chair of the Navy Families Federation 
			 Gill Grigg MBE Chair of War Widows Association of Great Britain 
			 Professor David Bonner Professor of Law, University of Leicester 
			 Simon Levene Barrister  Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Medicine 
			 Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor CBE FMedsci Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Imperial College, Consultant Physician at Royal Brompton Hospital 
			 Dr. David Snashall MSc FRCP FFOM LLM Clinical Director and Senior Lecturer in the Occupational Health Department at St. Thomas' Hospital 
			 Professor David Alexander MA (Hons) C.Psychol PhD FBPS FRSM (Hon) FRCPSysch Director of the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research and Professor of Mental Health in the Faculty of Health and Social Care

Kevan Jones: The Stewardship Report on the "Defence Estate 2008-09" will be published today. The publication of the report implements the commitment in "The Defence Estate Strategy 2006—In Trust and On Trust" to report annual performance across a range of estate-related strategic aims, and to demonstrate that the Department is discharging its obligations properly and acting responsibly in meeting the needs of the armed forces. The report attempts to balance:
	a. the substantial investment made in the estate, the successes over the year, the steps being taken to improve the effectiveness of management and the achievement of value for money;
	b. the commitment to provide an account of our stewardship to external stakeholders.
	The report continues to set out the progress against the aims and objectives in the Defence Estate Strategy 2006 and demonstrates how the estate is changing as a result. The report is published online and can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/DefenceEstateand EnvironmentPublications/DefenceEstates/

Phil Hope: In April 2009, the Secretary of State for Health asked Sir Ian Carruthers, Chief Executive of NHS South West, and Jan Ormondroyd, Chief Executive of Bristol City Council, to undertake a review of age discrimination and age equality in the health and social care sector, as announced in a written statement on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 35ws.
	The review was asked to consider what health and social care organisations should do to meet the age provisions of the Equality Bill, currently before Parliament. The Bill outlaws age discrimination against people aged 18 and over by those providing services and exercising public functions. The Bill also creates a new public sector equality duty which applies in relation to age as well as to seven other protected characteristics.
	The review was supported by the National Advisory Group on Age Discrimination, chaired by John Dixon, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Social Services at West Sussex County Council. The review has undertaken a comprehensive engagement process in the South West with local authorities, the NHS, public groups and third sector organisations focusing on the practical implementation of the Bill.
	The review's leaders published their report, Achieving "Age Equality in Health and Social Care"—a report to the Secretary of State for Health on 22 October 2009. The report sets out the review's recommendations and conclusions on what actions health and social care organisations need to take to tackle age discrimination and advance age equality. It includes a recommendation to implement the Equality Bill's age discrimination ban in health and social care at the same time as in other sectors.
	The Government are minded to accept the review's recommendation on the timing of implementation. The Department intends to consult on its response to the report in December of this year. This will take place in parallel with the further development of a resource pack designed to support implementation.
	The report has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office.

Bridget Prentice: Local authorities use the magistrates courts to enforce non-payment of council tax. This process begins with an application (called a "complaint") for the court to issue a summons informing the individual that the local authority is seeking unpaid council tax and asking the individual to attend court if they wish to challenge the court making a liability order for that amount. The issue of a summons for non-payment of council tax or non-domestic rates must be authorised by a justice of the peace or legal adviser with delegated powers from a justices' clerk. Fees are chargeable and the decision of the court at the hearing must be recorded in a court register.
	Investigations by HMCS staff has identified examples of a small number of magistrates courts failing to follow the correct procedures. In particular HMCS has identified examples of fees not being charged to local authorities for issuing proceedings and some examples of a failure at Salford magistrates court to enter the results of applications for liability orders on the court register. More seriously two magistrates courts, Rochdale and Salford permitted the local authorities to issue summonses requiring attendance at court without the authorisation of the court.
	This was a clear procedural failing and was immediately stopped when it came to light. Individuals and the magistrates concerned in subsequent hearing cases would not have been aware of this irregularity.
	In all such cases individuals would have had ample opportunity to attend court if they wished to challenge the liability to have the non-payment enforced against them. However they would not have been aware that the summons had not been properly issued. Had the summonses been correctly issued, there is no reason to think the consequences would have been any different in practice. Individuals should pay their council tax and this house would expect non-payment to be properly enforced.
	Given the paucity of information available it is not practicable to identify the individuals concerned. The issues identified in Rochdale and Salford have been fully investigated and I am satisfied that correct procedures are now in place. A national check was carried out that revealed no similar practices and all courts have been reminded of the importance of following the correct procedures.

Michael Wills: Land Registry is today announcing a five-year programme of reorganisation and transformation that will cut its costs and put it in the best possible position to continue to deliver effectively the service its customers need.
	Land Registry believes that the proposals will help create an organisation that can meet the challenges of a developing property market, that can live within its means and that can continue to provide an outstanding service to its customers. Having looked at a range of possibilities it is proposing to close five local offices and to reduce staff numbers to reflect more efficient working practices. It also intends to embark on a programme of outsourcing some of its support functions and to decrease outgoings further by selling surplus property. These changes will be accompanied by a new customer strategy to ensure Land Registry continues to deliver services that make property transactions easier for all its customers and will also develop additional services to generate extra revenue.
	The "Blueprint for Land Registry's Future" published in 2006 recognised the need for it to change to become a smaller, leaner, more flexible organisation. Since then Land Registry has steadily reduced staff numbers but it now needs to move much faster.
	Land Registry is proposing, in the first phase of its programme, the closure of its offices in Croydon, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells, outsourcing some of its support functions and the sale of surplus property, including its current head office building in central London. Combined with a redundancy scheme for some clerical staff, Land Registry aim to reduce their total staff numbers by a further 1,500 people over the next year and a half. Land Registry will review progress in 2011. Subject to the outcome of that review they envisage the need to reduce staff numbers further resulting in the closure of two further offices in the second phase of the programme.
	The proposals announced today, which have been developed by the Land Registry working with the Operational Efficiency Programme, have been accelerated by the property slump—which drastically cut Land Registry's work and lead to a £129.9 million loss including restructuring costs in 2008-09—but they are not a knee-jerk response to it. They will however allow Land Registry to respond faster and more efficiently to future fluctuations in the market. Building as robust and sustainable an organisation as possible will allow Land Registry to be proactive rather than passive in the face of market changes and to be in good shape for a recovery in the property market.
	The proposed closure of the five offices will be very unwelcome news for Land Registry staff. Land Registry will do whatever it can to ameliorate the impact on their exceptionally loyal, dedicated and hardworking workforce. Unfortunately however compulsory redundancies will undoubtedly be necessary if the proposals put forward are confirmed.
	Land Registry believes that the proposals will allow it to make far better use of its buildings and to create significant efficiency savings. Land Registry makes no call on taxpayers' money but they expect cutting their costs to allow their fees to be significantly reduced over the next five years.
	Looking ahead, Land Registry will continue to work with the Operational Efficiency Programme to identify additional opportunities to involve the private sector in its business whilst recognising that the creation, recording and guaranteeing of registered titles should remain a responsibility of Government. There will be a further statement in the pre-Budget report.
	Land Registry have today published "Land Registry's Accelerated Transformation Programme: Consultation on Office Closures", copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

Helen Goodman: I am pleased to announce that, following advice from the Meteorological Office, the annual review of the Cold Weather Payments scheme has now been completed. Amending regulations were laid on 5 October and will come into force on 1 November 2009, in time for the beginning of the winter period.
	For winter 2009-10 nine new weather stations will be included as part of the scheme. Consequently, some postcodes from existing weather stations for winter 2008-09 will be redistributed and assigned to the following weather stations: Fylingdales, Gravesend, Leek, Little Rissington, North Wyke, Sheffield, St Bees Head, Stonyhurst, and Strathallan.
	The alternative weather stations have been chosen to provide weather station to postcode linkages that are at least as representative as the previous arrangements—the changes are expected to either have a neutral effect or indeed provide a more accurate assessment for those eligible.
	I am writing separately to each Member whose constituency will be affected by these changes. I am also writing to each Member who made representations last winter to inform them of the advice from the Meteorological Office.
	The amending regulations also provide for the rate of a Cold Weather Payment to remain at £25.00 for winter of 2009-10.
	Cold Weather Payments are separate from, and in addition to, Winter Fuel Payments which are paid to eligible people from age 60.